Immortal Paladin

035 A Line Crossed

035 A Line Crossed

"Out of bounds!"

Liang Na’s voice echoed across the arena.

Elder Pan Xia shot up from his seat, stomping hard enough that the wooden flooring beneath him creaked in protest. For an old man, he sure moved like an angry toddler.

I imagined he was angrier at Lu Gao than at Jia Yun.

Jia Yun losing didn’t seem to upset him as much as Lu Gao being the one responsible for it.

I had a suspicion that Elder Pan Xia’s relationship with Jia Yun was the opposite of what they were portraying. But that wasn’t what the others saw.

Long Xieren let out a laugh. "Ha~! Running away like a brat... Poor Jia Yun had dissapointed her Elder. Pan Xia was always like that. He should learn how to be steady. He isn’t getting any younger."

Lei Fen, sitting with an air of quiet amusement, commented, "And here I thought the Cloud Mist Sect and the Sword Canopy Sect have been allies."

Long Xieren scoffed. "That’s all good and true, but in name only."

Lei Fen arched an eyebrow. "Moreover, now that Jia Yun has virtually lost, isn’t the disciple of your sect now all alone, suffering a disadvantage?"

I turned back to the arena.

Huo Jun was indeed in a rough spot. It was now a two-on-one scenario.

Huo Jun fought from two sides, his sword moving in a blur as he blocked and countered. Lu Gao’s relentless offense forced him into an increasingly smaller space, while Fan Shi’s unpredictable chains snaked toward him, cutting off any openings he might have used to escape.

He was like a cornered rat.

Long Xieren chuckled. "How about a bet?"

I glanced at him. This guy was either too confident for his own good, or Huo Jun had a trump card at the level Jia Yun had shown.

The way I saw it, the only reason Jia Yun lost was because she had shown too much of her abilities in the quarter-finals—pushed to do so because of the betting.

If I knew any better, I was fairly certain that Fan Shi would suffer the same fate soon.

I wasn’t wrong.

Lu Gao flicked his sword and slashed at Fan Shi.

No hesitation. No warning.

There were no rules against attacking your teammate, after all.

Classic xianxia. Betrayal could happen in a heartbeat.

Lei Fen scoffed. "Lu Gao taking potshots at Fan Shi—what kind of teamwork is that? What’s the point of pairing them up if he’s just going to attack her?"

Ren Jin leaned back slightly, maintaining a composed demeanor. "There were no rules suggesting otherwise."

Lei Fen shot him an incredulous look. "You’re telling me you deliberately allowed this nonsense?"

Ren Jin sighed. "It’s our first time trying this tournament format. We didn’t have time to polish the rules as much as I would have liked."

Long Xieren smirked. "Don’t be so uptight, Elder Lei. Lu Gao’s probably playing the long game. He plans to beat Huo Jun himself, leaving Fan Shi to claim the final point by finishing off Huo Jun. That way, in the finals, Lu Gao will be fighting a mentally unstable and injured Fan Shi."

Lei Fen narrowed his eyes. "You seem awfully nonchalant about a disciple of your own sect getting beaten up."

Long Xieren shrugged. "Huo Jun knew what he was signing up for. If he gets hurt, he’ll just have to live with it."

On the stage, Huo Jun suddenly clapped his hands together.

A technique materialized.

The five swords orbiting him flickered and multiplied—five became ten, ten became twenty, then twenty-seven. They hovered in the air for a brief, eerie moment before they all homed in on Fan Shi like a storm of steel.

At the same time, Huo Jun rushed at Lu Gao, hoping to pin him down before he could retaliate.

But Lu Gao had foreseen this.

He raised his sword high above his head. A dark-red aura pulsed along the blade, the scent of sulfur filling the air.

Then, with all his might—he swung down.

The sword energy roared, a singular, devastating arc of power slashing down, perfectly aligning both Huo Jun and Fan Shi in its path.

For a fraction of a second, I wondered if they were about to be cut in half.

Then—

Long Xieren vanished from his seat.

He reappeared on the stage, catching the descending sword strike in his bare hand. The energy sputtered against his palm, straining but ultimately failing to cut through his defenses.

Lei Fen wasn’t late to react either. He materialized beside Fan Shi, his sleeve billowing unnaturally.

From within it, something emerged.

A coffin.

It expanded in an instant, dark and heavy, planting itself between Fan Shi and the incoming sword storm. The impact was thunderous, the combined force of Lu Gao’s and Huo Jun’s attacks splitting the arena floor in half.

Dust and debris filled the air.

For a moment, no one spoke.

The drama unfolded in front of us without much fanfare.

Huo Jun staggered back, his face ashen. A thick cough wracked his body before he spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the already shattered arena. Long Xieren had managed to deflect most of the sword energy, but not all of it. The remnants had torn through Huo Jun’s defenses, rattling his internal organs.

He fell to one knee, clutching his chest, struggling to catch his breath. Despite the clear pain, his grip remained firm on his sword, as if sheer willpower alone would keep him standing.

The arena, or what was left of it, was split apart. Cracks ran deep into the stage like a gaping wound, the lingering energy still buzzing in the air. Lu Gao stood there, sword resting on his shoulder, looking completely unbothered by what had just happened.

On the other hand, Long Xieren was livid.

"You arrogant little—" He stormed toward Lu Gao, hand raised, clearly intending to slap the young master across the face.

I thought that was a bit too much. Winning wasn’t a crime. Sure, Lu Gao had been reckless, but slapping him for it? Overkill.

Flash Step.

I vanished from my seat, reappearing in front of Long Xieren in an instant, my hand catching his wrist mid-swing.

"That’s a bit too much, isn’t it, Daoist?" I said, gripping his arm just tightly enough to let him know I wasn’t moving.

Long Xieren’s eyes narrowed as he met my gaze. "He tried to kill the disciple my Sect raised with love and care!" His voice was sharp, almost shaking with rage. "He’s a Third Realm cultivator who has been deliberately suppressing his skills! If that attack had landed, Huo Jun and Fan Shi would have died!"

...Well.

That changed things.